Get Up and Grow: Start your fall gardening with cold crops while it's still summer

Summer is in full swing and, although it doesn’t seem like it now, temperatures will begin cooling before you know it. Gardeners always have to be ready to adjust to unforeseen circumstances while also planning for known eventualities.

Preparing your garden for fall weather and starting seeds in the summer can help protect the garden from the harsh transition. Starting cool season crops early can help increase yields and decrease maintenance in the garden.

There are plants that prefer the hot days of summer, but there are also many plants that do well in the cooler days of autumn. Cool season crops are often sweet and crisp, making them great additions to fall recipes. There are some autumn crops like pumpkins that need lots of time to grow, requiring an entire summer in order to fruit in the fall.

However many cool season crops can be sown later in the summer season and harvested in the autumn months. Things like beets, turnips, radishes, broccoli, spinach, carrots, peas, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts and more can all be seeded in late summer and harvested well into the fall months.

Transplanting is a good way to maximize your time and space in the garden. By sowing plants in small containers and transplanting the young vegetables into the garden, the home gardener can leave summer crops in the ground for longer without having to worry about missing the window for cold crops. Not all plants transplant well, so be sure to read your seed packets or to do additional research.

Weekly seed sowing and planting is another great method for maximizing time and space in the garden. By planting the same type of produce at different intervals, gardeners can time the growth of the produce to ensure that the harvest is spread out.
It may be necessary to feed the soil before moving to the next planting.

Summer vegetables can take a lot of the nutrients out of the soil and adding some nutrients back will help the newly planted crops. Using home compost is the best option as it is free, and healthy. If one does not compost at home compost is available in most gardening stores. Fertilizer can also be used but be careful not to add too much; too little is often better.

Transitions, such as the hot to cool season transition, present a good opportunity to create a new compost pile since lots of summer garden plants will be available all at once to bolster a new pile.

The growing season can be extended using various types of crop cover. Low tunnels and cold frames provide extra solar energy and will allow plants to grow longer into the winter. In some cases, season extension can stretch all the way into the spring.

East Central Indiana is fortunate enough to have long enough summers to enjoy some really great summer crops along with a cool season for wonderful fall produce. By planning ahead and preparing for each season East Central Indiana gardeners can enjoy an abundance of wonderful food throughout much of the year.